A Spirit of Gratitude: January 31

Important announcement!!  Next month, A Spirit of Gratitude is getting a makeover!  In honor of my Word for 2019 - the Thankful Thursday posts will now be titled "Joyful Gratitude" 

I Am Thankful For:

Lunch with a friend

When the Male Offspring is feeling chatty

Deciding how I want to finish up something I have been working on

Trip to the dentist wasn't as bad as I anticipated

The ice didn't last too long

Leftover lasagna for lunch

Happy hair days

All the Man of the House's flights were on time

Chamomile tea

The grand kid's birthday

Being lazy, but still managing to get things done

An afternoon of crochet and reading

A short nap

Late evening grocery stop

Sunday Inspiration: Forward

A Spirit of Gratitude: January 24

I Am Thankful For:

Marking items off the "To-Do" list

Watching reruns of Friends, and my favorite episode comes on

When the clouds start to break up and the sun shines through

Toast with avocado and tomato

Using up some leftovers to make dinner

Watching the cat play

Three large blue jays in the pear tree

Making plans to meet a friend for lunch

Completing all my errands before noon

Phone conversation with the grand kid

The Male Offspring getting the tags for his new car

Pizza take out

Starting an important new crochet project

Cinnamon rolls

The Man of the House making dinner

An adorable new hat for the grand kid

Two overtime championship games

Blue Monday

Did you know that today - the 3rd Monday in January - is known as "Blue Monday"?  Yeh… I didn't either. 

Apparently it is supposed to be the single most depressing day of the year.

Maybe it's because of the post Christmas let-down.  Maybe it's because of the dark, cold days of January.  Maybe it's all those new year's resolutions that are already being abandoned.  Maybe, it's just because it's a Monday.

Whatever the reason, it's just not a very cheery thing to hear - is it?

Let's rebel this year!  Make today the Best. Monday. Ever.

Do something nice for someone.

Do something nice for yourself.  Treat yourself to a coffee or tea on the way to work.  Take a bubble bath tonight.  Give yourself a mani-pedi.  Read a good book.  Get a full 8 hours of sleep.  

Or... you could just wait for what is supposed to be the happiest day of the year.  Which is supposed to be sometime in June.

Sunday Inspiration: Planning and Hard Work

A Spirit of Gratitude: January 17

I Am THANKFUL For:

Beautiful January Weather

Salvaging a "bad hair" day

Another successful meatless meal

Listening to music through Alexa

Open windows in January

Getting shopping done early

Discovery new seasons of my favorite British quiz shows

Snacking on a decadent trail mix

Yogurt with blackberries

The cutest little gray bird hopping around on the porch

A cabinet decluttered and repurposed

Waking up too early and getting to go back to sleep

Quesadillas

Laundry is caught up

Ice covered teas

New Life for Old Shoes

My feet can be very temperamental when it comes to shoes.  So when I find a cute pair that are comfortable - I want to hang on to them as long as possible.  

This pair of ballet flats are awesome.  They work with everything from pants to skirts.  And they have a nice cushy sole that my moody arches love!  Sadly, they were starting to look... well, sad.  See for yourselves.

The toes and heels were scuffed and worn.  But I just couldn't bear to part with them.  Never fear!  I came up with plans to give them a sparkly new outlook!  

Taking them from this:

To THIS:

For this project I needed:

• Scissors
• Tape
• Glitter glue for fabric
• Glitter
• Thin ribbon
• Yarn needle

First, I brushed them with a stiff brush to clean them.  Then I clipped off the old bows.

Then, I taped off a section of the toes and the strip on the back of the heels.  This keeps the glue where I want it to be. 

I applied glue to the taped off areas... 

And covered them with glitter.

I repeated the glue and glitter process once more, for a nice coverage before allowing everything to dry overnight. 

The next morning, I used a yarn needle to thread the ribbon through the holes where the cording used to be and tied some pretty new bows. 

Voila!  My worn looking ballet flats are now shiny and beautiful.

They make me happy when I look down and see them, and I get SO many compliments when I wear them.

Sunday Inspiration: The Future

Enjoy a Cuppa

After a week of roller coaster weather here in western North Carolina (70 degrees one day, 39 the next), winter has again taken control.  It's cold, with an expected wintry mix of rain, ice and snow.  The perfect day to stay inside and sip a lovely cup of hot tea.  

The timing couldn't be better, since today is National Hot Tea Day!

Legend has it that Shennong, an ancient Chinese leader, was drinking a bowl of boiled water when a few leaves blew into his bowl.  This colored the water and gave it a flavor he greatly enjoyed.  Another legend is that while testing various herbs on himself for medicinal properties, he discovered that tea worked as an antidote when he consumed a poisonous plant.   

There is written evidence that emperor's of the Han Dynasty were drinking tea as early as 59 B.C.  At the time, tea was considered a luxury beverage - today it is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. 

Whether you prefer black, green, white or oolong tea (all which come from the same plant  Camellia Sinensis), there are many benefits to drinking tea:

• Tea is high in antioxidants
• It's an all natural, calorie free, sugar free drink (until you start adding embellishments to it)
• Research shows it may reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases
• It may aid in digestion and assist with weight loss 
• A cup of black tea each day may reduce your risk of cavities and gum disease
• Green tea may help increase bone density
  

Heart coasters available at Queen B's Busy Work

Just over a year ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the only working tea plantation in North America - the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island a few miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. I found the tour entertaining and educational.  Even the Man of the House enjoyed it!  If you are ever in the area - I encourage you to visit.

Until then, brew yourself a cup - or an entire pot - to enjoy today.  

A Spirit of Gratitude: January 10

I Am Thankful For:

A new year

French toast for brunch

Time to work on the blog

New laundry room flooring

The new living room furniture arrived

The coffee tables arrived sooner than expected

Sipping coffee

Listening to rain tap... tap... tap on the window

Assembling tables with the Man of the House

A sunny, but windy, morning

Finding some great deals at Lowe's

The Male Offspring making lunch

Portobello crust pizzas

Strange Customs

This one might fall under the category of "too much information" (aka: TMI).  But here goes...

My family has a pair of Christmas underwear.  There's nothing about them that especially says "Christmas".  They aren't printed with candy canes, or snowflakes, or anything of the sort.  They're not even red.  It's just a rather large pair of mint green nylon briefs.  And there's just the one pair between all of us.

(Confused?  And a little concerned about where this is heading?  I get it.  Hang in there.)

It all started years ago when my husband saw these large sized underwear on clearance and thought it would funny to put them in with some one's Christmas present.  I didn't think it was a good idea.  But our then teenage daughter thought it was hilarious - and that was all the encouragement he needed.

Somehow, this became a thing - mostly between my sisters and I.  Almost every year, someone receives a present with those big ol' undies included.  And it is their job to hold onto them and find someway to pass them off to someone else the next year.

Pretty much every year, in the weeks leading up to Christmas there is at least one conversation that begins "Does you remember who has the panties?"

This year, my middle sister got me good.  When I opened my present to find the mug pictured above. Along with a lovely pair of mint green, nylon underpants tucked inside.

I laughed for about 5 minutes.  And as soon as I stopped giggling - I was already trying to decide who gets them next year and how to package them.

Do you have any bizarre family traditions?  (please... my family can't be the only one this weird)

My One Word: JOY

If you're like me (and I have a feeling that many of you are)  - new year's resolutions just never seem to work out.  At the beginning of every year, I used to make a list of resolutions.  And every year, I would come to the end of December having succeeded in few - if any - of them.  It was quite frustrating.  And very discouraging.

Gone are the long lists of resolutions.  Now I have one word which becomes my focus for the year.  A word to study, to meditate on, to incorporate into my life and help me move closer to being the person I am meant to be.

This year's word is...  JOY

JOY:
(noun)  a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.  a thing that causes joy.
(verb)  rejoice.


I want to find joy in all things.  To have it soak through every aspect of my life.  My attitude.  My marriage.  My relationships.  My work.  To experience the joy that isn't felt only in the good times, when circumstances are good.  But the kind of joy that is present even when things are tough.  The type of joy that is found in the presence of the Lord.  And to share that joy with others.

Do you make new year's resolutions?  Or do you have one word for the year? 

Sunday Inspiration: Set Another Goal

Whip It

Maybe it's been a long week.  Getting back to work after the holidays can be tough.  You deserve to treat yourself a little.  And, lucky you... today just happens to be National Whipped Cream Day!

Why today?  It's the birthday of Reddi-Wip founder, Aaron "Bunny" Lapin.

My youngest sister loves Cool Whip so much, she used to eat it straight from the tub with a spoon when she was a kid.  But, maybe you're more the squirt the whipped topping straight from the can into your mouth kind.  Or perhaps you're a purist who makes their own whipped cream.

Whatever your preference - Enjoy!

A Spirit of Gratitude: January 3, 2019

I Am Thankful For:
A trip to the home improvement stores
Folding laundry
Leftovers
Holding hands in the car
The quiet sounds of home
Cloud shrouded mountains
The shape of bare trees against a gray sky
Planning for the new year
Being safe and dry during the flooding
A beautiful sunset
Tim Tams
New items for my Etsy shop
Buying new flooring for the laundry room
A fresh coat of paint
A new soup recipe
Playing Uno with the grand kid
Countdown to the new year
Kissing at midnight

Currently... 2019

Happy New Year, y'all!  2019 has arrived!  (2019?  Wasn't it just 2k a couple of years ago??)  I hope each and everyone of you has enjoyed a wonderful start to the year and that you have many joyful and exciting things ahead in the coming year.

Reading:  Last month, I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  I've seen numerous variations of this tale in movies and plays - but realized I couldn't remember ever reading the original!  I also read To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin.

I ended 2018 by re-reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Ingle.  I recently watched the movie, which was alright but I know they changed a lot which made me want to go back and read the original, which was one of my favorites as a child.

I have kicked off 2019 with a bit of a challenge.  I am reading the first of my 5 "must read classics" that I want to read as part of my "Before 50" list - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

Celebrating:  This month we celebrate the Grand Kid's birthday.  I can't believe that he's almost 7 years old!  It doesn't seem that long ago I was seeing his sweet little face for the first time.

Enjoying:  Setting goals and planning for 2019!

Anticipating:  Having things back to "normal" after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season

Working On:  Doing a better job of planning ahead and scheduling posts for the blog, as well as social media posts for my Etsy shop.  (which brings me to my "Currently Needing" for the month)

Making:  Some new "ready to ship" items for my Etsy shop.  Including some unique cotton bath puffs that aren't available in the "choose your color" listing.  And some Valentine's Day themed items.

Wanting:  To lose some weight before the Female Offspring's wedding.  Right now, this looks like trying to get into some kind of routine when it comes to walking - either outside (when the weather allows) or on the treadmill. .

Needing:  Ideas for new blog posts in 2019!

Feeling:  Excited about 2019 and all the still unknown experiences it will bring my way!

Favorite Things:

1. An afternoon cup of Constant Comment tea with honey 
2. My new Kindle Fire
3. My 2019 planners (yes...  I have more than one)

Happy New Year!